Vietnam asks Facebook to clarify the wrong depiction of its sovereignty on map

Updated at Monday, 02 Jul 2018, 18:37

The Hanoitimes - That Facebook does not include Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) islands in its map has sparked outcry in community of Vietnamese Facebook users during these two recent days.

Regarding the issue, an official of Ministry of Information and Communication told Vietnam News Agency (VNA) that the government has requested Facebook to clarify and correct the wrongful representation of Vietnam’s sovereignty in its map.The map depicts the two archipelagoes as Chinese territory at a time when the international community has backed criticism of China’s recent actions in the disputed South China Sea, which Vietnam calls the East Sea.

A screenshot of Facebook's map for Vietnam on July 2, 2018 does not show the Paracel and Spratly Islands

Earlier, many Vietnam Facebook users when creating commerce ads on the social network found it an insulation when none of the two archipelagoes presented as of Vietnam's teritorriy on the map, VNA reported.
The Facebook side responded that they recognized the problem, which is due to a technical error, without any political intention. The issue is being clarified and dealt with, said the Facebook representative.
Around 53 million Vietnamese are using Facebook and other social networks. The country was the seventh biggest market of Facebook users worldwide in 2017.In 2016, Google made a similar mistake. The technology giant then corrected its map after receving reaction from the public and scientists.